Taking only photographs – leaving only footprints
New Zealand is known its unique species of animals and plants. On my walks around Auckland, I have come across many unusual flowers. Surprisingly, this bright blue flower is from South Africa. Also known as an African Lily flower, they can even be grow in England. From what I have seen they grow in large bushes. This posed a challenge to capture a single flower head, without a distracting background.
The more I follow other travel photographers work the more I see their focus on details. My work is too often focusing on wide vistas, landscapes or cityscapes so recently I am trying to zoom my camera more. These roses are clearly not real but they do add to the feel of the small Auckland suburb of Parnell. This area has many restaurants and cafes up and down the street all trying to grab the attention of passing tourists. It is done in a nice, almost old fashion way which I like a lot. Anyone visiting Auckland, especially photographers, should not miss the short trip up to Parnell.
Walking back from the incredible Angkor Wat temple you across a large moat. Just after the sunrise the light is in a perfect place to highlight the bright pink water lilies that break up the reflections on the water. Zooming the camera and focusing on two of the flowers I was able to isolate these water lilies from the rest. Using the reflection of the trees behind to outline the plant.
This annual event takes place each spring in Parnell Rose garden. Having photographed a number of beautiful gardens full of flowers back in England I went early. So early in fact that these were taken last weekend and the festival doesn’t start until tomorrow (3rd November). This meant the flowers looked amazing and I almost had the whole gardens to myself. Above is a view of the Nancy Steen Garden from the road that runs through the park. Below are a few close up shots of some of the more unusual colours.